The Looming Construction Labor Shortage: How AMECO Can Help
The construction industry is facing a significant challenge: a growing construction labor shortage. According to a model developed by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the industry will need a staggering 439,000 new workers by 2025 just to keep pace with demand. And the problem isn’t going away anytime soon; that number is projected to jump to 499,000 in 2026.
This shortage has serious implications. As ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu points out, if these numbers aren’t met, we can expect to see “industrywide labor cost escalation,” which will drive up construction costs and potentially make some projects financially unfeasible. Economists are seeing this trend starting to take shape, with average hourly earnings in construction outpacing earnings growth across all other industries.
Factors like inflation, high interest rates, and changes to immigration policy all play a role in increasing construction costs, but the fundamental issue remains: finding enough skilled workers to solve the construction labor shortage.
There are a number of long-term strategies the construction industry can initiate to encourage careers in construction, and efforts such as Women In Construction Week raise awareness for opportunities for people who historically may not have considered a career in a trade.
But what is to be done in the more near term? Construction managers need to find every opportunity to maximize efficiency and productivity with the existing workforce. This is where AMECO’s Site Services come in. AMECO’s range of indirect construction services make construction sites more efficient, and as an effect have a real effect on headcount. AMECO can help construction companies streamline their operations and reduce their reliance on scarce labor resources.
AMECO provides a comprehensive suite of services designed to boost efficiency on construction sites, including:
- Scaffolding: Efficient scaffolding services are crucial for safe and productive work at height. AMECO’s Integrated Scaffold Solution ensure that workers have the platforms they need, when they need them, minimizing downtime and maximizing labor utilization. In addition, AMECO uses PERI Up scaffolding material which can be erected and dismantled more quickly with teams of two or three compared to crews of four to six that are common with ringlock or cuplock scaffold systems. Click here to watch a video to see how AMECO’s approach to scaffolding stacks up against other scaffold systems. AMECO’s pre-planning also reduces the time spent on setup and reconfiguration, allowing workers to focus on the core construction tasks.
- Vehicles and Construction Equipment: Having the right equipment readily available is essential for any construction project. AMECO’s fleet management and vehicle and equipment rental services can manage equipment rentals sitewide, which eliminates the need for contractors to invest in their own fleet maintenance and management teams, and it frees up capital to put toward direct construction. In addition, having reliable, well-maintained equipment also minimizes downtime due to breakdowns, which improves construciton efficiency.
- Tools and Supplies: AMECO’s comprehensive tool and supply services ensure that workers have access to the necessary materials and equipment whenever they need them. This eliminates delays caused by missing or unavailable supplies, keeping projects on schedule and maximizing time on tools. Efficient supply management also reduces waste and minimizes the time workers spend searching for materials.
In the face of a growing construction labor shortage, the industry needs to embrace innovative solutions and optimize its existing resources. There is a lot of efficiency to be found in indirect services management. AMECO’s Site Services offer a valuable way for project owners, EPCs, and CMs to do just that. By partnering with AMECO, contractors can streamline their operations, increase efficiency, and mitigate the impact of the looming labor crunch. This allows them to stay competitive, control costs, and continue building the future.
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